Laila Al Shaikhli () is an

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i anchorwoman and television presenter on

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

.Everywoman: SPECIAL - The lives of Iraqi women
Al Jazeera , 3 July 2007

Early life

Shaikhli was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 1965 to an Iraqi father and Danish mother, raised in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

and educated in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and obtained a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, Pennsylvania.

Journalism career

Shaikhli started her media career in 1990 in Washington as a broadcaster for Arab American TV. After joining the BBC World Service in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1994, Shaikhli went on to anchor several programs in various Arab satellite stations, where she then joined the Middle East Broadcasting Center in 1996 and later Abu Dhabi TV in 1999. Her shows include ''Dialogue with the West'' (MBC), ''Agenda'' (MBC), ''Dunnia'' (ADTV) and ''Panorama'' (ADTV). She hosted "A day in the life of Iraqi women" in 2007 as a ''Everywoman'' special alongside fellow Iraqi activist

Houzan Mahmoud Houzan Mahmoud (born 1973) is a Kurdish feminist, writer and anti-war activist born in South Kurdistan. She was one of the speakers at the anti-war rally in March 2003 in London and is the co-founder of the Culture Project, a platform for Kurdish ...

, in which they discuss the lives of Iraqi women under the US-led occupation.

Accolades

Shaikhli was ranked 75th in the Most Influential Arab Rank List in 2008.The Power 100, The World's Most Influential Arabs, Rank List 2008
Arabianbusiness.com

Personal life

Shaikhli is married to Iraqi host on

, Jasim Al-Azzawi.

References

1965 births Living people University of Pittsburgh alumni Al Jazeera people Iraqi broadcast news analysts Iraqi television presenters People from Baghdad Iraqi women journalists Iraqi journalists 20th-century Iraqi women writers 20th-century Iraqi writers 21st-century Iraqi women writers 21st-century Iraqi writers Iraqi people of Danish descent Women television journalists Iraqi women television presenters {{Asia-tv-bio-stub